FRANKTON — Patience was the theme of the night for the Lapel Bulldogs.

After grabbing an early lead behind two first-quarter touchdowns, the finishing touches wouldn’t materialize until the fourth as Lapel stayed the course to defeat rival Frankton 26-7 on Friday night.

“For it being the second game of the year, it’s nice to see character, and how the kids responded after coming out from halftime,” Lapel coach Nate Andrews said after his team beat the Eagles for a fourth time in five years.

“I told them, ‘Just hang in there. We didn’t play very well. We’re going to start making plays.’ And that’s exactly what happened. I’m proud of them.”

The Class A Bulldogs jumped out quick, scoring on two of their first three possessions. Senior running back Josh Owen punched through first, breaking free for a 12-yard run to cap an 11-play drive spanning 3:59.

A pitch-and-catch strike from Lapel quarterback Ryan Scott to Brandon Freeland for 12 yards on second down after a 41-yard kick-off return by Evan Roberts put the Bulldogs up 13-0.

But then the offense stalled as Frankton’s defense rose to the challenge, keeping the game in reach.

“I was proud of them. They kept playing hard, and the defense played well,” Frankton coach Otis Cress said after his team dropped to 0-2. “We held them. Against our defense they didn’t get any easy touchdowns.”

In the second quarter, the Bulldogs struggled to maintain possession as Class 1A Frankton forced a fumble recovered by Elliot Taylor and Bobby King snatched an interception.

Lapel answered back with two fumble recoveries by Kaleb Reed and Logan Ingle as the team exchanged possession on four consecutive series.

Frankton finally broke the trend with an 83-yard scoring drive as quarterback Tyler McKeon hit Ian Imel for a 28-yard score with 45 seconds left in the first half.

McKeon passed for 68 yards and rushed for 43 behind an injured offensive line, which has lost three starters in two weeks. Two starters were injured against Lapel.

“We were ahead by a couple of scores, but it wasn’t comfortable at all,” Andrews said.

In the third, Frankton’s defense stepped up again, spoiling a scoring chance for Lapel, which powered to the Eagles’ 7 yard line before a Brandon Wood fumble recovery halted the Bulldogs again.

“That would have sealed it, I think,” Freeland said. “That was huge.”